Sunday, March 29, 2009

Oh What a Night!! Cooking with Colin and Gloria

At last year's Gala, Richard and Deb Olson bid on and won a great item. Learn to cook a meal with suggested wine pairings from a chef, Colin Potts, and a "housewife from Montgomery County", Gloria Friedgen! Deb and Rich arrived around 2:30PM and watched and worked while Colin and Gloria (mostly Colin) prepared a delicious gourmet meal. They took part in the preparation (hands on learning) while sharing food stories and more. Ralph arrived after practice. A short while later James Franklin and Don Brown joined the festivities. The food was great but the fellowship even greater.




You, too, could have this experience and other "Football Access" items ... You'll find them at the MGN Gala and Auction, Saturday, May 16th, 2009, at the N. Bethesda Marriott. Get a table together and enjoy a wonderful evening of great buys, food, drink, and dancing!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Meet our Coaches Wives: Fumi Franklin

Periodically we will post some Qs & As to help you get to know the wives of our coaching staff, or shall we say the women behind the men who support their husband's careers so unselfishly and to our benefit! The first in our series will be Offensive Coordinator, James Franklin's wife, Fumi.

Name: Fumi Franklin

Years married: 2 ½ years

Names and ages of your children: Ava (22 months), Addison (11 months)
Ava Addison

Occupation
: Stay at home mom

Hobbies: Lets see, trying to get 8 hours of sleep in a row…thinking of new and creative ways to convince my oldest daughter that veggies are yummy! I can’t remember, my children are only 11 months apart!

Favorite Movie – A Few Good Men, Wedding Crashers, The Man from Snowy River

Favorite Restaurant: La Lomita Dos – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this restaurant. The food is incredible.

How did you meet your husband? I met James when he was a GA at Washington State…but I think it’s important to mention that I didn’t pay him any attention because he still had a flat top and they had gone out of style AT LEAST 10 YEARS EARLIER! It wasn’t until several years later that we started dating.

Describe a typical game day. CHAOS! I have two very little girls that have a hard time making it through an entire game. Last year I would stay home until after they had taken their afternoon/morning nap (depending on game time) and we usually got to the game around halftime. We watched the games from James’ office because the stadium experience was just to overwhelming for the girls. Plus, my oldest likes to stand in the window and say HI to every-single-person that passes by.

What’s the best part about being a coach’s wife? My husband gets to do something that he’s excited about! We make a lot of sacrifices for James’ job but it feels worth it when I know he’s doing something he loves.

What’s the worst part? He spends a lot of time away from home. Between camp, the season, recruiting, conferences etc. there’s a chunk of the year that we don’t see him very much. My kids are usually in bed before he gets home, and they wake up after he is gone in the morning – so they REALLY miss him. My oldest will even carry his picture around ☹ During the season, the girls and I try to visit him at least a few times a week for lunch, but it just depends on everyone’s schedule.

Would you also include a favorite recipe? Oh my gosh, this questions feels really stressful because I AM NOT A COOK! I think it’s important to put that out there right away, but I am a tailgater…

7 Layer Dip

Layer #1
2 ½ cans of jalapeno bean dip
Layer #2
3 avocados (mashed)
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Mix layer 2 together
Layer #3
8oz. sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
1 pkg. taco seasoning
Mix layer 3 together
Layer #4
2-3 medium tomatoes (chop into pieces)
1 bunch of green onions (chop)
1 small can of olives
Layer #5
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
**Layer in pan starting with Bean Dip and Serve with Chips**

Why are you a member of the MGN?

We are looking to spotlight our MGN members on our blog. If you would like to tell us why you are a member of the MGN please email your response to MGNFootball@gmail.com. Include a photo if you would like. We would love to hear from you!

Spring Practice 2009 Starts Today!

If you are up and about and on campus at 5:45AM today you will not be alone! Along with the ROTC gang that jogs in the AM you will hear the "click clack" of big feet jogging excitedly (may be an exaggeration) to the first day of Spring ball. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the next 5 weeks our football team will be preparing for what we hope will be a very successful season. It will culminate on Saturday, April 25th, Maryland Day, with an autograph session from 12:30-1:30PM followed at 3:30PM with the Spring Game.
Meantime if you or anyone wishes to get up early and go the practice or attend Saturday "more reasonably timed practices", you MUST call the office at 301-314-9057 and leave your name. You will be asked to show a photo ID at the gate when you arrive at practice. As Ralph said at our Town Hall Meeting, he is happy to open practice to ALL, as long as folks keep what they see off the message boards, etc. We hope this will bring our fans "up close and personal" to our program once again. GO TERPS!

Ralph Extends his Appreciation to our MGN members past and present

Heartfelt thanks go out to our band of loyal supporters who have given their time, talent and treasure to the improvement of our football program. As Ralph has said in the past, the MGN is the life blood of our football program. So as we begin our 9th football season, we give thanks to one and all. We still have much work to do and hope that you can continue to help us attain the goals that we have set. If you have renewed your membership for this season already, THANK YOU. If not because you have been occupied with all our other great sport teams at UMD, then take a moment to do it online or call the office at 301-314-9057. If your circumstances are such that being an active member is a challenge now, we wish you well and hope that times improve and you can join us in the future. THANKS AGAIN to all of you!